The Evening Star
by xEndlessStarlightx
Summary: A different ending to Disney's movie, The Princess and the Frog
1. Chapter 1

The dark sky thundered with sparks of lightning the moment Tiana arrived back in southern Louisiana, desperately searching for Naveen.

Leaping across the slippery pavement, teardrops of rain started to fall upon her, somehow reminding her that she and the prince had very little time left.

"Naveen," she said to herself, her voice breaking as she started to lose hope. "Where are you?!"

She took a quick glance up at the clock tower in the church nearby. One hour left. The cold chill of the night surrounding her increased as the clouds separated in the sky, but she was nowhere near about to give up.

Meanwhile, down a dark alley decorated with various shadows of death on the brick walls, Naveen struggled to pull away from the demonic creature holding him in an inescapable grasp.

It was relentless, dragging him closer and closer to the Shadow Man with such an unrealistic speed.

Looking up at the stars above him, Naveen carelessly glowered at Evangeline. Tears of both anger and despair fell from his eyes in knowing that no matter how many wishes he could ever make about her now, he would never be with Tiana.

Within a matter of moments, three candlelit flames appeared from the distance atop an open dark purple door. Rays of mist surrounded each of them as they came even closer to the room.

An evil laugh echoed nearby, sending invisible shivers down the prince's spine. He heard soft footsteps eagerly approaching him as the demonic shadows violently threw him inside. And there he stood: Dr. Facilier, the Shadow Man.

A vile gleam circulated within his bright lavender eyes just as an evil smile began to form upon his face.

"Friends," he spoke to the shadows. "At last we are finally at peace."

The wicked minions on the walls snarled victoriously in praise and celebration for their leader, erupting into a thunderous applause.

"As for you, your highness," the sorcerer looked down at Naveen. "You — ."

"I'll do anything you ask," The prince interrupted, his hope finally fading away as he endlessly worried about Tiana. "Just please, in return for whatever you want, give this to Tiana; it's all I ask for."

"Very well," the Shadow Man relented in knowing that he had finally won. He held out his hand to the tiny frog in a single act of kindness.

The prince slowly placed a small yet priceless object into his dark palm and immediately leaned back once the deed was done, burying his face within his hands to hide the tears.

An overwhelming amount of sadness overtook him as he awaited his fate.

"Now," the Shadow Man continued, placing the small object into his pocket. "Listen carefully! This is what you're going to do."

* * *

Tiana continued roaming the many alleyways and streets seeing no sign of the prince anywhere. She was beginning to lose all hope up until the moment when she suddenly heard many melodies and rhythms of music nearby.

With a spark of adrenaline, she quickly leapt towards the sound — straight towards the echo of every instrument and every cheerful cry.

Tiana giggled to herself happily, "He must be here! Naveen can always be found at any kind of party or celebration!"

Within a matter of seconds, Tiana leapt beneath endless colorful lights and intricate decorations. Silent fireworks streamed through the skies as she got closer to a truly breathtaking Mardi Gras float.

The young waitress smiled, taking in the remarkable beauty of each of her surroundings as the celebration continued.

Suddenly, the clock tower in the church nearby loudly struck another minute for a few fleeting seconds, reminding her to keep searching for Naveen. Tiana quickly turned away from the parade in an attempt to keep looking for the prince but took one last glimpse at the celebration behind her, immediately regretting that decision.

Looking up at the very top of the Mardi Gras float in front of her, she recognized Charlotte, her childhood best friend, held carefully within Prince Naveen's arms.

Tiana looked up at the sky, searching for the Evening Star, Evangeline. Within a few moments, she found her.

'Why...' she thought, glaring painfully at the silver star with an endless river of tears falling down her face.

The pain in her heart only increased with every passing moment. And without a hesitant thought, she quickly fled from the celebration, disappearing down a dark alleyway and fleeing into nothing but darkness.

* * *

Tiana swore she could hear her heart breaking as she stood against the brick wall in front of her, struggling to breathe through the pain of what she just saw.

Losing so much more strength than she could have ever imagined, she fell to the ground, unable to stand.

"This can't be happening. It just can't!"

Many teardrops fell mercilessly from her deep brown eyes when she suddenly heard a small chuckle in the distance.

Wiping away her tears, she looked up to see the Shadow Man standing right in front of her with an evil gleam in his eyes.

"Hmmm," he whispered to himself.

"Get out of here!" Tiana screamed, burying her face in her hands.

The tall sorcerer laughed, "It is quite a shame that things had to end this way. Especially since I have absolutely nothing against you."

Tiana sniffled, looking back up at the tall, dark man in front of her. "What are you talking about?"

The Shadow Man said nothing as he slowly reached into his pocket, grasping the small, priceless object that Prince Naveen had given to him.

A few moments passed before he bent down and placed it into her open hands.

"Naveen?" Tiana said to herself, rising back up from the ground with the smallest amount of hope that she had left.

She stared down at the gold diamond ring in her palm and gently brushed her fingers across the delicate details, holding it close to her chest to try and prevent her heart from breaking even more.

"It's too late for you now!" The Shadow Man laughed evilly. "You'll never see him again."

Tiana looked up at him in disbelief, slowly shaking her head in anger.

She immediately fled from the alley and back towards the wedding celebration.


	2. Chapter 2

Only a few mere moments after Tiana had arrived back into the small parade, she looked up into the sky where the large float was embraced, and watched as Prince Naveen slowly placed a small ring onto the pale hand of her childhood best friend, Charlotte.

She immediately looked away as the young heiress leaned upward towards the prince and kissed him, sealing their vows. With every cheer the crowd made, and every firework that burst into the sky, it only broke her heart even more.

Still standing quietly in the alleyway, the Shadow Man cast a small, simple spell that immediately transformed Tiana back into a human.

A long, beautiful blue dress hung gracefully upon her dark skin when the transformation had ended, shimmering magnificently underneath the silver stars above.

A flash of emerald green in the distance momentarily captured the prince's attention as he finally saw Tiana after so long. He smiled at her, relieved that she was okay. She returned his gaze, but within a matter of seconds she instantly looked away from him.

' _The very moment after you marry Charlotte_ ,' Dr. Facilier had told Naveen. ' _Tiana will turn back into a human and it will all be too late_.'

And it was. It was all over.

* * *

"Prince Naveen!" Charlotte laughed happily to herself as she ran down the golden staircase of the float.

The prince turned around, giving the young heiress a small smile. He hesitantly stretched out his hand to her as she drew closer.

Moments after she took his hand, he slowly led her across the dance floor in a waltz. The crowd surrounding them began cheering when he lifted her up into the air and twirled her so that she could look up at the stars.

"Charlotte?" Naveen spoke after a few minutes had passed, avoiding any chance of looking at her.

"Yes, sugar?" The young heiress giggled.

"There's something I need to ask you for."

* * *

Meanwhile, behind the entire crowd, Tiana watched them both carefully, unable to prevent the tears from falling down her face.

She immediately ran back into the alleyway where the Shadow Man had once stood and fell to the ground in pain.

"Evangeline," she whispered as she looked up at the brightest star in the sky, tears filling her eyes as she redirected her gaze back at the prince. "This can't be how it ends."

Still dancing with his wife Charlotte, Naveen looked far over to the left of the parade in an attempt to catch yet another glimpse of the young waitress, but saw nothing. He felt his heart breaking more and more as he continued to lead the heiress across the pavement.

"I'll be right back," he whispered, suddenly stopping the dance.

Before he left, he gently kissed Charlotte's hand in hopes of preventing any kind of suspicion, and headed straight towards the alley once she finally looked away.

* * *

Tiana took in a deep breath, thinking only of the prince as she held on tightly to the ring.

"Please, please, _please_..." she looked up at Evangeline.

The dark clouds surrounding the silver star immediately enveloped the entire sky, just mere seconds before her wish could be heard.

"Tiana!" She suddenly heard a familiar voice calling out to her.

"Naveen?"

The young waitress heard quiet footsteps approaching her from the distance. But then they got louder. And louder. And louder. Picking up speed with every step that was taken.

Tiana wouldn't turn around; it hurt too much to move even in the slightest. She couldn't bear to see him.

"Tiana," Prince Naveen spoke as he stood quietly behind her. She could hear the pain in his voice. "Tiana, I —."

She took in a deep breath, wiping away the remaining tears on her face when she finally found the strength to turn around and face him.

The prince sighed, feeling helpless as he watched her suffer in pain. "I'm so sorry..."

Tiana stood there with her hands crossed over her chest, staring down at her blue slippers.

Her inner self was screaming so loudly at him to stay with her — for him to hold her as close to him as possible, telling her that everything would be all right even though it wouldn't be.

And, almost as if he had read her thoughts, that's exactly what he did.

The prince slowly stepped towards Tiana, closing the distance between them both and carefully wrapping his arms around her.

Naveen heard her soft cries in his shoulder as she held onto him, which only made him hold her even closer. Slowly brushing his fingers through the dark strands of her hair, he fought so hard to keep back his own tears that threatened to escape.

Once the embrace had ended, he leaned slightly back away from her and reached into his pocket. He lifted a single, small golden key out from the fabric and held it in his hand for as long as possible, desperate to make those few final moments between them last so much longer.

"It's the key to your restaurant," Naveen spoke, unable to look into her eyes without her seeing any tears. "I did everything I could to get it for you."

Tiana's hand trembled as she slowly took it from his hand, not saying a word. Every ounce of pain in the past hour had stolen her voice.

Still holding onto her, Naveen knew that it would be the very last time. He looked up at her, gazing deep into her dark brown eyes until she finally noticed his tears, realizing how much he truly did love her.

Without a hesitant thought, the prince leaned down towards her yet again, resting a gentle hand on her right cheek and slowly placing his lips against hers.

"I promise I'll always love you," he whispered softly once they broke apart.

"Naveen!" They both suddenly heard shouted from the distance, startling them.

It was Charlotte. He hadn't realized how much time had gone by in those final moments.

Looking back at Tiana for the very last time, he leaned forward and gave her a final kiss on her forehead, a single tear falling from his right eye. He hesitantly pulled away from her, slowly fading into the distance until he was truly gone. It was the last time she ever saw him.

And after he left, the young waitress took one final look up at the Evening Star in the skies above, its iridescent glow shimmering so brightly, until the clouds mercilessly tumbled across it once more so that no other wish could be heard.


End file.
